***New Blog!!! (Quantum Psychonautics)***

I have a new blog at Quantum Psychonautics. I have transferred almost all of this blog's entries into the new blog- in the order that they were posted (minus CERN updates and press releases.) Please enjoy my new blog and the soon-to-come website also titled Quantum Psychonautics.

I Sing The Universe Electric!

Yes, I'm a card-carrying Ray Bradbury fan! I thought I'd take a moment to plug one of my favorite SF authors while propounding the profound. Classical Newtonian physics as well as the "modern" physics being taught in millions of classrooms today has got about as many holes in its logic as the night sky has stars. The particular "hole," I would like to discuss in this blog concerns the four basic forces of physics. Physics accepts the four forces: gravity, electricity, and the "strong" and "weak" nuclear forces. Modern physics has spent the last 100 years believing (and I mean believing, just like church doctrine) that the predominant force in the universe is that of gravity. Gravity along with its two "nuclear" children, have all but stolen the stage for the past century. The Electric Universe Theory holds another view, and its definitely one worth considering. It goes something like this. Gravity is many times weaker than the electric force, and its job is to help create order by pulling the universe together (pulling everything together.) Electricity is responsible for repelling and stretching the universe apart. These two forces as well as the nuclear forces, act to create a net balance (a zero-sum state of equilibrium.) Nikola Tesla (1846-1943) understood this simple concept and did his best to explain it and its effects to everyone that would listen. Its also worth noting that without the works of Nikola Tesla, you would not be able to read this blog, or even have electricity in your home. Tesla has proven to be the single greatest scientist and inventor that the world has ever seen! As we set forth on our quest to understand life, the universe, and everything around us, we must understand that it is sometimes necessary to throw away incorrect theories, suppositions or superstitions. The idea of an mindbogglingly complex universe, being run by nuclear and gravitational forces (with the electric force simply applying to the microcosm) is one such idea, IT NEEDS TO GO! When you plug this new theory into the current data and related fields what remains is a new fresh science that no longer suffers from being peppered by rationalizations and ridiculous guesses. I might be willing to take a few stabs into the ether about large-scale cosmological order quantum theory and MWI effects, but I'm not willing to go blindly into the universe believing that "up" is "down" and "black" is "white", after all, the lines have to be drawn somewhere, don't they? For more on this subject may I suggest the book "The Electric Universe" and for further reading, the works of Nikola Tesla. Above in the text, the first time I mention Tesla, there is a link in his name to Tesla.org this is a wonderful resource for all things Tesla.

"Have the courage to open your mind and to see the world through new eyes, and what will unfurl before you will surely change your life!"

Artificial You

The potential for robotic and even cyborg versions of our self, as well as variations on those themes may soon be possible. Advancements in A.I. (artificial intelligence) as well as nanotechnology, robotics, and genetics will make artificial life just another spectrum of our everyday reality. But something that has not even been whispered is the possibility of beings which are artificially created as chemical and biological variants based on our very own DNA. This would make it possible for us to create a version of ourself out of Silicon, or Boron or some other inorganic chemical base. Genetic engineers will eventually be able to take the subtle information patterns within your DNA and translate it into another kind of physical living being. Imagine talking a walk across the face of a barren planet, breathing poisonous gases, in a thin wisp of an atmosphere, at temperatures nearing that of space itself. The famous techno-prophet Ray Kurzweil, quoted in the RollingStone article "When Man & Machine Merge," that what we would call a "person" can be eventually reduced to a computer file, a beautifully complex pattern of intelligent software that just so happens to be self aware. If Kurzweil is correct than the transition from carbon based life to that of silicon and other comparable elements may be even easier. DNA is not much more than a computer file arranged in an electrochemical pattern using A,C,G, and T[*1] instead of 1 and 0, with the exception that DNA functions as both software and hardware. [For all you naysayers out there thinking that translation of DNA into an alternate chemical compound structure would never be possible, consider the following: we convert computer files all the time, it would simply a matter of chemical translation, instead of electronic.] I will admit, we currently know next to nothing about inorganic life,[*2] but you can bet that it will be a challenge that we will see within the next 50 to 100 years. And even if we don't remake ourselves out of some exotic chemical stew, you can be sure that we will uploading the contents of our digital memory chip into 23rd century carbon nanocircuit brains. If our bodies fail us we will simply grow new ones in labs, or manufacture them with the use of bacteria driven nano-machinery. If that prospect bothers you, then there will always be androids, which will pass in almost every way for natural biological humans, which could be infused with an artificial brain containing all your memories and your thought patterns, the very essence of your life. Need I point out (for those who wish to opt out of this whole venture) that the time is quickly running out, there will soon be the technology and the need for humanity to begin its catalog of genetic variance. It can only be so long before each man, woman and child are cataloged by genetic sequence as part of a standard protocol at birth. A small sample of blood, taken at birth, could be sequenced and stored on a secure server for future use. Once that sample is taken, sequenced and the data stored, one would not be able to "opt" out of this kind of world. A sample taken tomorrow could yield a being that would live 10,000,000 years from now in a galaxy at the other end of the known universe. So it is that the future begins.... silently, with a single drop of blood.

[*1] [A,C,G, and T are the four nucleic-acid bases that make up our DNA. The A stands for Adenine and pairs with the T, which stands for Thymine. The C stands for Cytosine and pairs with the G, Guanine. These four nucleic acids are the building blocks of our genetic code, or DNA. ACGU are the four amino acids that make up our RNA. RNA pairs up like DNA, except Thymine is replaced by the nucleic acid Uracil.]

[*2] [We do know that there is the possibility for inorganic life. Consider the strange but true case of The Gold Bug, 'no not the story by Edgar Alan Poe' but the gold eating microbial space-worm found by a NASA engineer known to eat thermal sensors on space-station equipment. There have been countless wires and components replaced because of this strange microscopic metal eater, that lives in the vacuum of space.]

Great Entanglement Clip

Please watch the following video segment from the documentary "What The Bleep Do We Know?!" concerning post-detection, quantum superposition and quantum entanglement.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ja0UUKbVlhA&feature=PlayList&p=E357929E535A819B&playnext=1&playnext_from=PL&index=28

This video does an excellent job explaining the concepts of quantum entanglement, superposition, pre and post detection of quantum scale objects.

Dreamer Your Name Is "Man"

I have given great consideration over the passed few weeks to the ultimate nature of mankind, both as a force of creativity and as a living being upon this planet. The thing that keeps forcing its way through to the surface of my thoughts, is that mankind's ultimate nature is that of the "dreamer." We (as individuals) are here for a short time, living our unbelievably "small" lives as we might, scraping out a living in some fashion, growing old and returning from whence we came. Our desires scarcely seem to make a difference. Or do they? I believe that ultimately they do make a difference, maybe just not in the way that we might intend or expect. The dreams of mankind echo, a lonely song amongst the endless sea of stars, perhaps to be heard by an alien mind forever changing, forever growing, forever living as a message. I believe that mankind shares its dreams with itself, silent whispers in the night. I believe that these dreams enrich us with larger thoughts, larger perspectives and larger truths. What difference can one man make? What difference can one dream make? These questions are not different, it is the same question from a different perspective. Man is the dream and the dreamer all in one. So dream a new dream tonight, for it is your heritage to do so, your birthright, your purpose and your function. You are a dreamer and a dream.

An Introduction to Simulism and Holodecks

"Simulism," the brain-child of Dr. Nick Bostrom (Oxford University) is the concept that argues that we may be part of a living simulation. At first glance this theory seems about as outlandish as the Loch Ness Monster, (my apologies to any real monster hunters out there reading my blog.) But this theory has some seriously solid points to make. It begins by categorizing kinds of simulation (currently in existence.) Third degree simulations are the kind in which a person is placed into a controlled environment and watched and manipulated (possibly unaware) like the famous TV reality show "Candid Camera" or the film "The Trueman Show." Second degree simulations would be the kind in which a user is aware of the simulation and does not entirely "buy into it," as his or her ultimate reality concept. The "user" or "player" within a second degree simulation would engage the construct of the simulation with a dual mind, half in the game, half aware of the reality around them (like role playing games A.K.A. RPG's) Heavy users of RPG's often admit to temporarily losing their grip on reality and taking on the artificial persona of their choosing. This kind of artificial world can be addictive, relaxing, entertaining, educational or all together mindless. The third kind of simulation is the most spooky, for it involves the manipulation of matter and energy (as in the film The Matrix) to form a full-scale simulation of real life objects and beings. Third degree simulation is only possible with significant amounts of computing power and energy, (currently in excess of that which is available to us now.) One could argue that the life we live now is a highly complex third degree simulation, broadcast by a quantum computer cluster somewhere in the cosmos.* An example of a modified form of third degree simulation could be the concept of a holodeck on the SF series Star Treck TNG. As a holodeck manipulates matter and energy in a matrix to form a 3D computer driven simulation in real-time. It is entirely possible that we may be able to project our own full-scale simulation when we reach a certain level of technology. It is possible that we may understand the ultimate nature of our own creation only when we reach out our own hands and do it ourselves.*

* Third degree simulism should be possible by the manipulation of photons of light into subatomic particles (in the quantum scale) then manipulating the subatomic particles into the larger-scale structures of physical matter. This process could also be possible by manipulation of existing matter and ambient energy via scalar wave technology, however this could destroy the original source of that matter, it would be lost in the translation.

* It should be noted that it might be necessary for a continuous "feed" of the simulation to be generated for the object to exist over time. In other words, if the generative system or device were to be shut off, then the object could vanish, just like on a holodeck.

Great Video About The Omniverse

I really enjoyed this video blog 'vlog' by Rob Bryanton

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V6D3CgF8_qk

CERN Celebrates WWW!

CERN Celebrates 20th anniversary of World Wide Web
(taken from CERN press release)
"Web inventor Tim Berners-Lee (left) and early web pioneer Robert Cailliau stand on either side of the NeXT computer that acted as the word's first web server.
Geneva, 13 March 2009. Web inventor Tim Berners-Lee returned to the birthplace of his invention today, 20 years after submitting his paper ‘Information Management: A Proposal’ to his boss Mike Sendall. By writing the words ‘Vague, but exciting’ on the document’s cover, and giving Berners-Lee the go-ahead to continue, Sendall was signing into existence the information revolution of our times: the World Wide Web. In September of the following year, Berners-Lee took delivery of a computer called a NeXT cube, and by December the Web was up and running, albeit between just a couple of computers at CERN1.
Today’s event takes a look back at some of the early history, and pre-history, of the World Wide Web at CERN, includes a keynote speech from Tim Berners-Lee, and concludes with a series of talks from some of today’s Web pioneers. The full event will be webcast at http://webcast.cern.ch, and relayed via http://tf1.lci.fr/infos/endirect/0,,4301948,00-les-20-ans-du-web-edition-speciale-.html. Highlights will be available to broadcasters via a Eurovision worldfeed scheduled for 19:00CET (http://www.eurovision.net/net/content/worldfeeds.php).
“It’s a pleasure to be back at CERN today,” said Berners-Lee. “CERN has come a long way since 1989, and so has the Web, but its roots will always be here.”
The World Wide Web is undoubtedly the most well known spin-off from CERN, but it’s not the only one. Technologies developed at CERN have found applications in domains as varied as solar energy collection and medical imaging.
“When CERN scientists find a technological hurdle in the way of their ambitions, they have a tendency to solve it,” said CERN Director General Rolf Heuer. “I’m pleased to say that the spirit of innovation that allowed Tim Berners-Lee to invent the Web at CERN, and allowed CERN to nurture it, is alive and well today.”

1. CERN, the European Organization for Nuclear Research, is the world's leading laboratory for particle physics. It has its headquarters in Geneva. At present, its Member States are Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, the Czech Republic, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Italy, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Slovakia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland and the United Kingdom. India, Israel, Japan, the Russian Federation, the United States of America, Turkey, the European Commission and UNESCO have Observer status."

The White Queen's Strange Memory

Have you ever read any Lewis Carroll? Well, you really should! He is and always will be known primarily for the twin works "Alice's Adventures In Wonderland," and "Through The Looking-Glass And What Alice Found There." I would like to call the reader's attention to the following passage, to be found within "Through The Looking-Glass..." Chapter V, entitled "Wool and Water ~40th page in. The White Queen (who is precisely one-hundred and one years, five months and one day old) explains to Alice that people that live there (on the other side of the mirror) live their lives backwards. They remember events on both sides of the time continuum as well as experiencing the present. Alice asks the Queen which events she remembers best, to which she replies, events that take place about a week and a half from now. Alice remarks that her memory only works in one direction, backwards into the past. The Queen finds this to be a curious malady, and tells Alice that her memory is certainly flawed!

I find this section of "Through The Looking-Glass" to be particularly telling. Carroll was clearly pointing to the limitations of mankind's most trusted mental resource, his memory. In order for one to remember the future one must first have the means to do so. Given the practical means to do so and the opportunity, one would "recall" events from one of their possible futures. The act of seeing initiates the shift into that set of future events. That previous passage (as well as the whole of the Alice-Looking-glass saga) has widely been judged to be deterministic. It's concept of free will being severely stunted and warped, gives it a dreamlike quality. Time is strangely reversed, at least in some ways. The events and outcomes (many times occurring prior to their own causes) are not really under personal control, so much as that they are being acted out as a preexisting "play." (Remember that "hard determinism" has close ties with the concept of "fate," as it connects every event with an unbroken chain of past events, reducing or eliminating the possibility of the emergence of free will.) I didn't take away this same reaction to the logic of the Wonderland saga, rather that certain chaotic logic "wonderland logic" as well as different initial conditions could be in play. It would be possible that the concept of free will dominates this kind of system, in as much as it appears in several instances that the actors are envisioning the events into reality. They appear to be manifesting their destiny, albeit from a rather detached or unconscious means. You may recall that metaphysics regards this phenomenon as natural and inherent in all complex living systems, like the one we live one. It would see this kind of action as being part of "The Law of Attraction." (This is an odd little Law which explains that all actions and conditions arise out of the innate functions of consciousness and conscious thought or movement.) Thus things, events and actions are attracted into being by the "thinker" who then experiences them as a reality. This theory would say that the act of prediction or forecasting is also the act of intentional manifesting.

So what would the act of remembering the future really entail? Would you be in the act of manifesting from an imagined future? Would you be realizing a predetermined path through a strictly deterministic system? If the latter and not the former were true, then the most logical conclusion as to why we do not remember the future would be that it would drive us all mad! If the future were "solid" and strictly deterministic in nature, one could argue that the system had (at least on some levels) already been "played out." To know what would happen, to play your part, and to not have any volition, no personal control of that system or your role in that play, would certainly prove to be unbareable! (Maybe thats why we cant remember our future - because we need to forget it, in order to function as we should, to play our part as we should, as we will.)

Of course MWI cosmology should not support the previous set of options. It should dictate that the knower of future events would simply be privy to the events within other universes (which held a time-positive value to that of their own) so that looking into them, would be very much like looking into the future of their own world. We can add in the concept of strict determinism if we like, achieving a set of universes each with its own unique "play script" and with its own predetermined outcomes. (We could call the outcomes of such a universe its empty set, as it describes the end state of equilibrium for that system.) We can also add in an element of the Law of Attraction by saying that in that universe's events would arise out of the act of viewing events of other universes and focusing on them, thus shifting into that new reality. The previous reality would really describe an entire reality system housed within a multiverse, and not one finite universe. It should also be held that a strictly deterministic system could not be compatible with one that is infused with The Law of Attraction.

Some questions to consider?

1.) Why do we not remember the future?

2.) Why do we remember the past?

3.) How do we remember the past, what functions allow us to store and access these events? (The same kind of automatic process should allow us to remember the future, should it not?)

Illustration by: John Tenniel (1863)
Literature by: CL Dodgeson, A.K.A. Lewis Carroll (1863)

The Quantum Ghost

I am continually struck by the profound lack of understanding we tend to exhibit toward an entire spectrum of experience. That spectrum is of course the hidden nature of "non-existence." We might pass the entire idea off as being childish or impractical, but the fact remains that half of the world is simply "not there" and yet it affects us, all the same. We are constantly touched by an unseen presence of a "non-real" and yet valid portion of the universe, a portion that is physically contained within other universes and bleeds through into our own. Imagine that you are flying through the Omniverse with a special kind of perspective, (Physicist, Dr. Fred Alan Wolf would undoubtedly invoke his famous Dr. Quantum's "quantum goggles" if he were writing this blog.) This perspective allows you to see the omniverse as an infinite sea of mirror-like bubbles. Each time you peer into a bubble, you see that universe. If however you simply observe the bubble from any distance without peering inside, it reflects all the other bubbles around it in a blinding display of light. To the inhabitants of each bubble-universe, its limited reality is the only one that is considered to be "real." After all, reality is always a local concept! So you peer into bubbles all day long until you are sick and tired of looking. What do you suppose you would think about the things that you saw? Well, for one thing, you would have done something quite dangerous (without knowing it) you would have infected yourself with the foreign logic of other realities. This infection or is a difficult one to treat, if one really wanted to treat it anyway. The difficulty here is that you can't effectively unlearn something, especially something so important and so vital to the life process, it becomes hard-wired in after so long. The more "foreign" the logic*, the longer the exposure and the more profound the impact of that experience upon the observer, the greater the reduction in the observer's mind's ability to function (at least to a valuable degree) in their own universe. The end result of too much exposure is inevitable, insanity. It should be noted that the observer would not clearly understand the effects until the changes had already been made.

* It is important to understand that the term "foreign," as I have used above, is intended to describe the degree to which the (newly) observed universe's initial conditions deviate from those of the observer's universe of origin. Any other effects that have occurred due to chance (or since the formation of the observed universe) should not and will not affect the observer's reality concept or their ability to function within any given universe. It would affect the observer's specific experience with that universe. Imagine a world where planet Earth was ruled by telepathic spiders, alterations in evolution of a worldline from that of our own worldline's history should significantly change one's viewing experience.

Multiverses (useful catagorization tools)

I have chosen to adopt the term "Multiverse" to define a large set of universes which can or should be grouped together. It should be mentioned that many people use this term interchangeably with the term "Omniverse." (Please see blog entries titled "Our House" and "MWI Diagram" for further explanation.) The term Multiverse applies to certain universes that share certain traits, allowing for a logical and reasonable grouping to form. All universes with the same initial conditions and corresponding laws would group nicely together.

[Some people will disagree with the use of terms like Omniverse and multiverse, saying that the term "universe" "uni" meaning one and "verse" meaning word, implies that that "one-word" is as all inclusive a term as we need to use. This view and terminology is fine, unless you want to explain the larger concepts of MWI. An infinite universe would work just fine as long as it was truly infinite "enough" so that all possible outcomes and all possible interactions could take place somewhere or somewhen within that one universe.]

These similar universes need not appear so much the same (at least considering their appearance) some planets might be missing or out of place, some might be unusual additions. The laws, and the way that everything functioned would be very much the same. It can be said (with more than a little certainty) that the initial conditions and the act of the universe's creation should contribute that universe's laws and the way that it functions all at the same time. A twin or sibling universe to our own might look like our universe down to even the species of grass growing on (what might be your "twin's" front lawn,) but subtle and not so subtle changes would inevitably occur as random outcomes gave way to alternate historical time-lines. Hitler might have teamed up with Mexico and South American forces, winning the second world war, or maybe WWII never even occurred! I have noted before that some universes should not hold our same initial conditions, and would thus be grouped into a different set of universes outside of our Multiverse. It is important to remember though, that this designation is purely one of categorization. There is no reason why these universes (with different initial conditions and laws) could not exist right next to or even right on top of one another, possibly sharing the same physical space or containing gateways in and out of one another. Many current cosmologists view the MWI model to suggest that each universe is contained within some kind of cosmic "soap bubble." Since we have not even the means to suggest how we can leave our own universe, or manage to see it from a greater vantage point, this "bubble concept" will have to remain a logical supposition. In the blog entitled "...world without end..." I discussed the idea that whatever the state of the greater cosmos may be, the end result must logically be an infinite in time and space larger "whole." This all inclusive, all containing "whole" I refer to as the Omniverse, a staggering concept that contains (as the picture in MWI diagram shows) all worlds in all universes, across all time and space. This Omniverse is infinite in every way. Logic tells us that beyond the boundary of the larger container lies something, that something must be contained by something else, and so on and so on, ad infinitum. An ancient philosopher once asked, if a man threw a spear, and were able to continue to do so on and on, where would the end be? If that spear were a spaceship traveling in hyperspace (far faster than the speed of light) where should it end? The answer is the same. There can be no end, for the Omniverse is infinite in both every quality and every quantity, it is the sum total of all existence and all non-existence!

Schrodinger's Quantum Menagerie

Erwin Schrodinger helped to pioneer the field of quantum mechanics during the 1920's, when it was still in its proverbial infancy. One of the unique ideas attributed to Schrodinger is his equation concerning the evolution of quantum states within physical systems. (Schrodinger's famous equation) Schrodinger's theories would later become some of the basic building blocks of Quantum Mechanics. At the time Schrodinger probably didn't realize that he would be remembered for a strange little thought experiment he worked out in 1935, (Schrodinger's Cat Paradox.) In which a cat is placed into a sealed box for a given length of time. Inside the box is a device containing a radioactive isotope and a trigger mechanism. If the isotope decays spontaneously (as they sometimes do) then the trigger is tripped and allows a hammer to drop onto a glass vial of poison. Once the poison has been spilled the box will flood with toxic fumes, instantly killing the cat, as seen in the above diagram. His big question: At a given time, without opening or looking into the box, what is the state of the cat? The cat is part of a physical system (essentially a closed system) which is either a lethal or a non-lethal environment depending on the quantum state of the isotope-trigger mechanism and the corresponding poison-release mechanism at that exact time.
The common sense answer is that the cat can only be in one of three states, dead or alive or somewhere in the process of dying (easy enough.) Quantum Mechanics, (notably Schrodinger's equation) says that the answer isn't that simple. As with much of QM, things tend to go from weird to weirder to weirdest - this is no exception. After a given length of time has progressed, the cat is said to be both dead and alive at the same time! It is then the act of opening the box and observing the cat that brings about the observable state of the cat. This same act takes place whenever we peer into the subatomic world of the electron, or view the "Color Phi Phenomenon" or the famous "Double Slit Experiment." We are experiencing the strange yet ordinary world of quantum states within physical systems, as they evolve over time.
It is important to remember that this experiment did not take into consideration Bryce Seligman DeWitt - Hugh Everett's MWI of QM. Instead this experiment sought to describe the events of the system in the terms of a more classical view of QM. MWI was initially rejected by mainstream physics in favor of more classical Newtonian physics and its related theories. It is important to note that the laws of "classical" or "Newtonian physics" do not hold up when applied to systems within the quantum scale. Strangely enough, objects and systems that are this small have their own set of unique laws which govern behavior of particles and systems. It is for this reason that QM emerged in the first place, to explain these new troublesome questions and paradoxes. So what does the MWI (Many Worlds Interpretation) of QM have to say about the Schrodinger's Cat Experiment? MWI would say that 1.) there are more than just the one cat and system involved, 2.) the cats and systems exist within an infinite system (we can call that the "omniverse,") 3.) the cats and their systems exist in an infinite number of states within that infinite super-system - at least one experimental cat per universe or "world-line" exists in one definite state (dead, alive, dying, zombie, mutant, slightly sick, happy, sleepy, confused, enlightened or non-existent.) The previous list is meant to be slightly humorous, but you get the picture right? Sometimes the cat changes color, sometimes it was never there in the first place, sometimes the experimenter becomes the cat, sometimes it vanishes into a puff of smoke and sometimes that little hammer doesn't break the glass vial of poison. Why so many crazy options to choose from? Because this group of cats exists in universes where all those things are possible, even one where the cat mutates, grows to the size of a lion and eats the observer before they can even know what has hit them. Universes where these "novel" effects frequently take place might simply have a different set of physical laws governing the discreet action of particles or Newtonian physics may be completely re-written. It is likely that we in this universe share some degree of these strange effects with all others. It is also likely that the laws which govern our own universe exist (at least in some fashion) within others. This is a thought experiment (largely because a real experiment would be difficult, and probably toxic to cats) but even if it were a "real" experiment, we could expect to see these kinds of results to occur across the infinite omniverse we live in. I'm not usually a betting man, but the universe I live in is only slightly random, with fairly predictable laws (at least on the Newtonian scale.) I don't often witness Tabby cats growing into lions and eating people, but I am not willing to throw out the possibility that somewhere out there it does happen. Because I do not witness it does not make it any less possible. After all, stranger things happen all around us everyday!

The sooner you begin to view the universe around you as a strange and sometimes random environment, the easier it becomes to learn about the very odd world of Quantum Physics and its Many Worlds Interpretation. The sooner you learn about MWI and QM, the sooner you become ready for the dawn of the Quantum Age.

(portion below from Wikipedia free online encyclopedia) of Erwin Schrodinger's Equation http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Schr%C3%B6dinger_equation#General_quantum_system

General quantum system

For a general quantum system:

where

• is the imaginary unit
• is the wave function, which is the probability amplitude for different configurations of the system.
• hbar is the Reduced Planck's constant, (Planck's constant divided by 2π), and it can be set to a value of 1 when using natural units.
• is the Hamiltonian operator.

The Big Blue Invisible Sun!

I would like to take a moment to remind myself and everyone who reads this why it is that I write this blog. Imagine that you step outside onto your front lawn (or the equivalent thereof ) and while standing there you look up into the sky. Instead of seeing a normal sunny day you see something very startling. Hanging above you is a brilliant blue sun, burning with all the intensity of a thousand splendid suns! The normal sun seems but a mere speck of pale yellow light. You go inside, call, email, fax and yell to whomever you possibly can that something very strange has happened. Only people just don't seem to see the big blue sun, in fact, they just don't seem interested that one might even exist. They say things like, "A big blue sun? We've already got a sun, and it does a good job as it is." or "Maybe the new blue sun is evil, that's why people cant always see it." or maybe "You can't prove to me that the new big blue sun exists, because I don't see it!" Seeing is believing or so they say, well I say that experiencing is believing. SO what is the big blue sun? To me its a new paradigm, so new that a name has yet to accurately fit it. This new Quantum Age is approaching us at the speed of light, and yet we hold the views and paradigms of 500 years ago. The wisdom of the Renaissance provided the last great push towards a new era of exploration, and modern times (like the industrial revolution) sought to exploit new technology rather than to use them to explore and learn. So it is that we sit on the brink of the largest new age of mankind, the ledge that divides all human experience from a new and brave frontier. The Quantum Age will find man reaching for the stars and landing upon them, reaching for immortality and attaining it (in many ways,) reaching for wisdom, power and experience and finding his only limits to be those which he places upon himself! This new world that is being born, it needs a new paradigm, a new set of ideas to explore! That paradigm IS Quantum Cosmology and its related fields, Quantum Philosophy and even strange new fields like Quantum Psychology. Quantum Mechanics has grown from a desire to reach new frontiers and to explore the world around us (big and small, excluding nothing,) and its reaches can exceed all mankind can think of. I have been asked if this new way of thinking is a cult or a religion. I ask you this... When Copernicus (450 years ago) told his teachers and students about the earth revolving around the sun, what effect did that have on the world? Was Copernicus trying to get us to believe in a new religion of Heliocentrism, or was he trying to help us see a strange new sun?

Time Travel (QM and the Titor Method)

Ever since I was a nerdy little kid (say 2nd grade) I have maintained a steady obsession with the topic of time travel. I had all but relegated it to the kind of topic that belonged on "X-Files," nowadays "Fringe," or late night AM radio shows (like my favorite, "Coast To Coast AM" with host George Noory- formerly the Art Bell Show- heard every night from 12am to 4am on stations like AM 1200 WOAI. ) I was suddenly forced to place it in another category when I read the book, "The Yoga Of Time Travel" by world renowned physicist Dr. Fred Alan Wolf. This book firmly takes hold of the topic of time travel, and brings it into the light of believable scholastic en devours. It may be partially because of the work of scientists like Ronald Mallett (see a 2-part video on YouTube about Ronald Mallett's Time Machine project.) Scientists like Mallett have been working hard to create a laser driven device that would warp or bend space-time into a loop. The device should allow transmissions from the future (all the way up until the moment that the device was first turned on.) The device could not however allow for trans-temporal communication prior to the moment that it was turned on. As we forge the machineries of the first Quantum Computers and Quantum Gate Networks we will be on the cusp of creating a device similar to the Quantum Shell or Sphere discussed in "The Yoga Of Time Travel," that will allow for its driver to navigate the omniverse and time itself by way of super-positional states (a Quantum Computer would use 'q-bits' in superposition to compute and store data, please read "The Yoga Of Time Travel" for more on this topic, I will update as much as possible.) The most outlandish source of information within this topic is without a doubt the website and related sites devoted to John Titor. Titor is supposedly a time travellor from the year 2036 (on another world-line or version of Earth.) But just because its claims are outlandish doesn't mean that it holds no value. The John Titor story is a very unique one, and its worth reading! A short but detailed account can be read on the John Titor website. There is a very expensive and hard to find book also (released by the Titor family after John's departure in 2001, entitled "John Titor A Time Traveler's Tale") There have been several interviews on "Coast to Coast AM" with George Noory and Oliver Williams (founder of www.johntitor.com) The interviews are definatly worth listening to, and reveal much about the accounts of Titor and his family (now believed to be living in Nebraska, previously of Florida.) Titor's device utillizes the gravitational distortion effects of a twin micro-singularity engine system. This engine is essentially a smaller, smarter version of the LHC now in use by the team of scientists at CERN (in europe.) Titor predicted that CERN would create a fully functional device (the LHC) that would eventually give rise to units like the ones within his device by 2034 (in his world-line.) Titor believed that the MWI or Everett-Wheeler model of the universe/omniverse was correct. The original devices would be made by General Electric for the US Army, Model # GE-C204 (possible image of Titor's device shown above in diagram) after a series of disturbing civil wars and unrest. A later version of the device GE-C206 was much more accurate and was able to travel further with more accuracy. Titor claimed to be part of an elite Time Corps unit of the new US Armed Services, Division 177th. (a picture of his division's logo is available under Google Images.)

QCT (Quantum Cell Theory) continued from "A Night in the Life..."

In the following previous posts ("A Day In The Life: An Introduction To MMT," "A Night In The Life : An Introduction to MMT" and "The Meaning Of Life.") I briefly touched on the analogy of the self (individual version) as a cell within a larger body, that being the "real" self or individual. This perspective is not altogether unheard of. Christians refer to themselves "collectively" as "The body of Christ." Hindus view all beings as being part of the great body of Brahma. Each being, each soul is very much like a cell within a body. Each soul has a place, a function to perform, and a way in which to do that intended work. As with the cells in our body, each one part is independently conscious (at least to some extent) this is why muscle testing and biofeedback work. Each part is connected to a network of like parts with like functions. Each part need not know what it is, why it is, or how it is to fulfill its task, just like a cell. Cells perform their tasks by the use of a modified form of consciousness and a plan written into them (DNA.) As conditions change, DNA reveals the needed information and provides the proteins to execute each task. The consciousness of the higher self is not unlike the DNA of our cells. It transmits the necessary information and means by which to carry-out each task. It may transmit it by dreams, random thoughts, automatic behavior, or unconscious thoughts and behaviors. The underlying function of all unconscious thought and behavior is to carry out the complex tasks of the larger entity, the soul! It is less important that we know what the soul is up to from moment to moment and more important that we nurture the sacred and intimate connection between our infinite higher mind or soul and that which we have immediate control over, our conscious mind and physical body (which are really one and the same.) It is this connection which allows mankind to raise himself above the finite human brain and physical body, just as the internet allows this computer to access and manipulate files through a network (a complex system built to perform a specific function by the use of many separate units.) One may view the portion of the unconscious mind (soul) that we interact with (when dreaming, praying or meditating) as a remote interface with that larger system.

Strange Math

I though it would be fun to discuss the relationships between the current field of MWI related cosmology and physics; as it relates to the study of light, sound and vibrational energies. So what we know so far about light is that it falls into a strange spectrum of particle-waves that are equally "here" and "not-here." That is to say that the effects of photons are readily detectable (as seen in visable light,) but that the actual particle-waves that produce them are not wholy contained within this dimensional plane. We have known this for some time. Dr. Fred Alan Wolf has done a marvelous job illustrating this phenomenon in his book "Parallel Universes." Dr. Michio Kaku further describes the anatomy of matter by saying that If you smash particals down to their smallest bits you get pure light. This means that on some level we are all essentially made of light energy, and it is light energy that ultimatly runs all aspects of the life process. Light, and sound are both part of the electromagnetic spectrum of vibrational energies. Behind the everyday nature of material physics we can see that all matter is masquerading as vibrational energy patterns. The first time I came accrossed this concept was when I saw the film, "What The Bleep Do We Know?!" where quantum physics and philosophy debate the meaning of life and the answers to everything. Its a great little film that everyone should see at least twice! It all boils down to tendancies of systems. Everything that exists (and does not exist) is composed of matter, energy and "mind" or consciousness. Interactions within this system produce patterns on a subatomic or quantum scale, which we then interpret and experience as life. From the smallest atom to the largest galaxy super-cluster, discreet tendancies are interacting and exchanging data which creates the ripples that we know to be our conscious experience of this life fantastic! These tendancies could (theoretically) be asigned an equation that would express their values, allowing us to predict their effects (ripples.) If we could do this strange kind of math, we would be able to control the universe and everything that operates by that particular set of rules (expressed within that equation.) Its worth mentioning that in order for anyone to be able to perform that sort of mathmatical genius, they would first have to be able to step outside of this dimension and into higher and higher dimensions, like the 7th or 8th (at least) Rob Bryanton has commented that it is likely that a living being or anything recognizable as material substance may not be able to exist within these highest dimensions. The one hope we have to traverse these wild inhospitable shores of higher dimensions is to use our minds as a vehicle to get there. Our minds need not exist within a material framework, and appear to have no actual physical limitations.

Gone Baby Gone!

What happens to all that stuff that we do, to the moment that existed just a fraction of a second ago? Where do the ripples of time end up after they are done stirring our world into existance? There is a surprising answer offered by QM (Quantum Mechanics,) the simple answer is that it all vanishes into a sea of infinite possibility. The actual past of your experience becomes as nebulous and murky as the actual future you will experience. This means that from a QM perspective the study of history is not an actual science, infact nothing is really an exact science, unless it is capable of encompassing that sea of endless possibilty we find within the QM perspective.

Functions of the Universe

We are in essence a function of the world around us, the stars, the galaxies, the clusters, super-clusters, groups and universes, multiverses, and finally the omniverse itself, contribute to the nature of us all. We cannot escape the inherant patterns that penetrate the fabric of space-time and make up what we are and how we function. These patterns lie deep within higher dimensional symmetries, the math of the omniverse. These patterns are controlled by laws that are largely unknown to us. Like a child at a lake, tossing stones into the water, all we can do is watch the ripples. We are forced to investigate the shaddows, the ripples, the effects of these higher dimensional laws, rather than observing them dirrectly. It it conceivable that somewhere, somewhen, there is a being that knows the equations, the formuli that would represent these higher laws of inter-dimensional physics, even that they could manipulate or utilize them to their advantage. Imagine the raw power that a being could command with the control over the entire omniverse and all its laws, it is a sobering thought. We humans do not even know the entire spectrum of laws which govern just this small patch of stars we know as our universe, let alone those which govern other universes. We do know that other universes should not all have the same laws or effects as our own, as this is statistically unprobable, given the infinite nature of the omniverse. Rob Bryanton (in his blog "Imagining the Tenth Dimension." ) has described these laws as emminating from within higher symmetries born in the Tenth Dimension.

The Truth... It Makes a Liar of Us All!

I have used the analogy of a many-sided puzzle box before, in describing the mysterious nature of truth or reality. Each "truth" or "reality" can really only be known (in part) for a fraction of a moment, and during a certain set of conditions. Consider the tiny electron, as it spins into one of its inifinte orbits, it appears frozen into a specific state. I have addressed the nature of this phenomenon as well as its staggering ramifications in the blog "The Measurement Problem," and many others. The truth for that electron is nothing but a set of conditions under which it temporarily exists. The truth is but for a infantescimal fraction of a second and then it is gone. Actually on a quantum level, its not just gone, it never even happened! Douglas Adams had it right- "...reality is often inaccurate..." Now to take it just one step further, this concept of linear time we have needs some serious revising. The Mayans were much closer to understanding the flow of the 4th dimension that of time (duration.) They viewed time as being both linear and cyclical, like a fractal or spiral. Within the infinte nature of time lies an infinite number of infinite futures and an infinite number of infinite pasts, (infinite in both quantity and quality, stretching into eternity in 360!) This is because space-time is infinte and the omniverse is infinite. Read more about the omniverse in my other posts, (it is the sum total of infinite subsystems, the all inclusive container.) So where does that leave each individual as they travel life's jouney? It may mean that it is more true to say that once a person is born their actual history is just as unsure as their future. They should have an infinite number of pasts as well as futures, each one is a truth, each one is just as real, just as valid as the next. SO what is real for you? I guess it depends on what world you are in, what your perspective is. Perspective equals truth, its just a matter memory that leads us like blindmen up and down that scale. You will remember of course that memory is about the most inaccurate sense that we humans posess. Now remember that tiny electron, spinning in its path about the nucleus of an atom. How would we accurately describe its actions and experience from a quantum perspective? Each path it takes (and there are an infinite number of them) can be seen as a "reality" a "truth." Strangely enough for every "real" path that the electron takes, there are "non-real" paths. From the quantum perspective the electron is in all possible states, real, un-real, and it exists and does not exist, all at once. How much more complex are the lives of us human beings, composed of trillions and trillions of electrons and nuclei, engaged in the primordial dance of life!

An Army Of One

In the film "The One" (directed by: James Wong, written by: James Wong and Glen Morgan,) Jet Lee does a great job portraying a unique kind of serial killer, the kind that kills other versions of himself. The US Army has used the slogan "Army Of One" for a while now, and it really does a great job explaining my next topic, so I recruited it. Picture if you will the entire omniverse, with all its countless versions of yourself. Now imagine that that system of "you" has got an agenda, specific acts and a series of game plans to achieve that agenda. This system would in fact, be the real function of your life, here on this world. Each version would behave in slightly different ways, with unique tasks and goals to accomplish. Once each version had completed their tasks and achieved their goals, they would simply appear to die, rejoining the larger self in its on-going omniversal and eternal life. I have mentioned before that all that need to exist (in order to provide our current experience of consciousness) is that a focus or emphasis be placed on the given world or reality by the larger omniversal mind. That is to say that, the real "I" consciousness within the entire self would contribute the partial conscious experience that we all share (right here and right now) by focusing a portion of its energy into all its many manifestations (ie. the finite versions in each universe.) In essence, "it is as real as it needs to be," and it doesn't really need to be that real!

Never Say Die (Reincarnation 2.0) Or not!

There are clearly more theories about what happens after you die, than ones that explain what happens before you are born. Where do we come from? Here's my friend Calvin's great question, "What are we?!" Both these questions point us in the direction of metaphysical origins. The physical process is easy enough to understand (if you are unclear on this, think back to your sex ed. classes, if this is new material, than most likely; you are either the most advanced 1st grader on planet earth, or living at home with your aging parents - NDNM "no date-no mate.") This question of origin is usually met with some outlandish scene involving heaven, angel-singing-harp-carrying beings, losing a bet or contest-being sent back to earth...no really intelligent theories get put out there. (At least not in modern western civilization.) Plenty has been said about the pre-life origins of humans, many traditions incorporate the concept of reincarnation-life before life. I myself have spent considerable time toying with that notion of recycling. It occurred to me that there were other novel approaches to be found within the MWI framework of theories, which might better explain this mystery. Every single theory that I have heard, read or considered revolves around the concept that we are finite beings (at least our bodies, and ourselves as individual souls or lives) living a unique life that is lived out within a system thats surrounds us. Each individual has a finite body that is conceived, born, grows to maturity, ages and dies (Very few people would dispute that.) And yet, there is another possibility that has not (to my knowledge, and I have looked a bit) been proposed. Reincarnation suggests that we live again, in a new body, in a new life, with the same old soul - minus the conscious memory. There are millions of texts that do a much better job at explaining the whole process ("Good Life, Good Death: Tibetan Teachings on Reincarnation by: Gini Alhadeff, Mark Magill, Nawang Gehlek. is just one of them.) I would like to introduce a new theory, M.L.T. (Many Lives Theory.) MLT would take into account both an infinite omniverse and the infinite, eternal spectrum of life. If we can call the omniverse infinite we can also call time infinite as it would be repeated out forever throughout an infinite set of time-lines (none of which would ever end.) So to recap, time is infinite, space is infinite, and you are infinite. You in fact, are a system all unto yourself. If MWI is to be read correctly, there are an infinite number of "you" living out an infinite number of lives, some nearly the same as you are living now, others quite different. These other "you's" (twins, if you like) needn't be living right now (as we in this universe would see it) from our perspective they might not live for another million years. Let us remember an earlier figure or set of figures, the two Joes. Joe (totally hypothetical here) born midnight July 7th 1978 to his parents Dan and Sue in Paris, Texas, could be born under the exact same set of conditions in an infinite number of parallel universes where that universe's time-line could be assigned a positive (time-plus) or negative (time-minus) value when compared to our own universes time-line. This omniversal view of time would of course mean that time was even more relative than Einstein had predicted! There could never be an omniversal clock. The one thing that would hold true is that Joe would be have to be conceived at the exact same time and under those same exact conditions in every single universe he was born into, otherwise he would most likely-not be Joe. DNA and other biological constraints might restrict those conditions further. The end result would still be an infinite number of Joes living out their many lives eternally. One might die as another was born. One might shift back and forth between universes and never suspect a thing. In fact, we can't actually prove that this does not happen naturally. We could be born here, our body die, and our self, soul, spirit or mind could easily be transported to another "ourself" where we would never know that death, instead we would dream that we had died, wake up and begin living our new one. The mind is an excellent filter, and what it can't filter out, it will paint over. I have noted before that our memory is a mutable thing, so much so, that it is difficult to tell what has happened even 10 years ago. Try to remember a detailed set of events that happened 30 years ago and you will surely notice that you are having to reconstruct from the fallen remains, the fragments of a once solid memory structure. So Joe would die here (at least to us) but he would be reborn or shift into a new life and body- that of his own- but not quite. He might notice that things weren't exactly the same as they once were. His mind might even struggle to pin it all down into something that made sense. Eventually his new life would fade into reality and the remnants of his old life would haunt him only in his dreams, but for a moment. He would never know that he got to do all the things he wanted to do in his life. He would never remember all the experiences he had. He would have no idea that he was strangely living, an eternal life. Joe would never die, he would always be Joe, but he would never know! (This strange new view also meshes well with the John Titor view and personal account of time travel. The jury is still way-out on that one!)

CERN - LHC update: Sept./Oct. 2009

CERN
"Geneva, 9 February 2009. CERN¹ management today confirmed the restart schedule for the Large Hadron Collider (LHC) resulting from the recommendations from last week’s Chamonix workshop. The new schedule foresees first beams in the LHC at the end of September this year, with collisions following in late October. A short technical stop has also been foreseen over the Christmas period. The LHC will then run through to autumn next year, ensuring that the experiments have adequate data to carry out their first new physics analyses and have results to announce in 2010. The new schedule also permits the possible collisions of lead ions in 2010.

In Chamonix there was consensus among all the technical specialists that the new schedule is tight but realistic." (From CERN website press release) http://press.web.cern.ch/press/PressReleases/Releases2009/PR02.09E.html

The Great Void

Somewhere between 6-10 light years from earth lies the largest hole we have ever found! Its a complete empty space, known as a cosmic void "The Great Void" as it is being referred to is about 1 billion ly (light years) from side to side. It is roughly 1,000 times larger than any known or predicted cosmic voids. The universe appears to be pock-marked by empty bubbles (like soap bubbles.) These gaps often occur regularly, helping us to define galaxies, clusters and walls, great filaments or strings of galaxy clusters. What make this one unique is that no one would have ever predicted its unbelievable size. "It's hard even for astronomers to picture how big these things are." [University of Minnesota Professor Lawrence Ruddick] Just to give you an idea how big that is: it would take a spaceship {traveling at the speed of light} a billion years to cross it. The Milky Way galaxy is estimated to measure a mere 100,000 ly in diameter. This would feel kinda like studying normal fleas and then suddenly finding one the size of Jupiter. The team from UM found the enormous void by using the National Radio Astronomical Observatory's VLA Sky Survey (NVSS) in 2007. (I know its old news, but its still exciting!) The void is located just off the edge of the Eridanus constellation, and contains no stars, heavenly bodies,visible matter or dark matter, its a real pit of absolute nothingness! What lurks within the void may be more mysterious than the cause of its existence. As we begin to explore further and further into the starry blackness of space I cannot shake the mental image of an infant crawling through a jungle. The stars are not a playground, but a jungle of unimaginable variety. It is filled to the brim with every kind of creature, every kind of thing unfathomable, and we must respect it or perish. The earth and all its kind are but a tide pool, spinning in its sacred eddies and whirls around a small pond, The Milky Way. That ocean, that jungle has no end, no shores, only wave after wave of stars and inky black holes between them. So go out into the night, look up at the stars, and be in awe, for it is the correct response to such an unbelievable existence.

Quantum Religion (The basic tenets of a QM Gospel)

What kinds of flavors might we find within a religious practice that embraced the concepts of MWI, MMT, and an ever expanding field of QM related philosophies? We might hear sermons concerning the vast spectrum beings within our realm of existence. Possibly a mission field of meditation or dream related outreach would be spawned by the universal drive to help others. We might explore a new practice of tolerance for the humanity within ourselves as finite manifestations of infinite systems. The over-arching message of many current religions is more or less friendly with this system of philosophy. Jesus of Nazareth showed a particular bend toward the quantum nature and all things zen. Buddha spoke of the eternal void, lacking nothing, yet perfectly empty. Lao Tzu embraced the Tao, an amazingly simple explanation for the quantum nature of the system of reality we reside in, and outlined a way for following its path. The eternal wisdom of Krishna and the Hindu concept of the Spanda Shakti reveal the very nature of the Creator of this realm to be infinite, their body encompassing all the matter of the cosmos. The teachings of Kabbalah (ancient Jewish mysticsm) lay clear the way for a view of the universe as a logical, natural system built upon quantum wave-state technology. Sufi mystic Rumi understood the nature of the heavens and the earth as a larger universal system, ever continuing to wonder at the beauty that overwhelmed him. We read in the Poets: Blake, Milton, Emerson, Twain, and so many others, a common thread of the timeless gospel of QM.

"What is and What should never be."

I would like to discuss the subject of variety of species, with the current framework of an MWI cosmology in mind. Consider either an infinite (in space and time) universe, or a sea of finite (large beyond all comprehension) universes. Both provide an adequate background for the discussion. We can imagine a multiverse where humans exist on an infinite number of planet Earths, as well as a infinite number of other extraterrestrial planets, asteroids, planetoids, space stations or spaceships where humans also exist (both within our own universe - separated by tremendous gaps of space and or time, or within other universes that are somewhat similar to our own - terrestrial or extraterrestrial in nature. But what of the worlds (universes) that are so different from our own that the very act of visiting them would prove fatal? How many worlds could exist with laws of physics so foreign, so odd and so chaotic that the creatures that dwelt within could never be seen, heard, smelled or touched? How many worlds would fall so far from our limited experience here, that we are forever incapable of grasping their very form. This foray into different realms and experiences should lead us to another more profound question: What actually exists? There are at least two answers to this question. (1.) Everything exists (somewhere, somehow and somewhen) the second answer is troubling. The second answer is that (2.) nothing actually exists. Both answers are simultaneously correct. The truth is that there is not just one truth, not just one way of seeing what exists or does not exist. The truth is like a many-sided puzzle-box, that changes shapes, qualities and properties as one revolves around it. Every side looks different, and every side is real. There is not one true nature or one true way to see or interact with it. Many people look at life from different sides, different perspectives, and truly feel as if they are viewing the correct side, seeing at last the true nature of reality. Think if you will about the reality, the lawfulness the solidity of even our most fanciful dreams. They appear to be infused with all the correct conceptual elements of life, no matter how warped or shattered, they seem to function as a whole. Most importantly, we usually accept this artificial reality scape as being, real enough for the time being. These dreams, these thoughts, this life, is real enough for the time being, and that is enough for me.

TIARA IN TB [New Motto]

"This-Is-As-Real-As-It-Needs-To-Be."

Wisdom of THHGTTG (The Hitch Hiker's Guide To The Galaxy)

I have found quite a few subjects of interest between the many pages of Douglas Adam's series THHGTTG also known as the "Guide." Science fiction may be fiction, but it sure harbors a ton of fact! The perspective that Adams frequently shows us is one of a pandimensional, intergalactic omniversal kind. He does not shy away from using the ridiculous to point us to the unknown. Often times we are more receptive to learning new things if we can first; reject them, laugh at them and quietly be influenced by the idea of them. My favorite quote in Adam's second installment of the "guide" series ("The Restaurant At The End of the Universe ," Chapter 6, p.174) is as follows: "The Guide is definitive. Reality is frequently inaccurate." The joke often points to a grain of truth. Reality, or rather its perception is by its very infinite nature completely impossible to grasp. First we find one loose thread, so to speak, then another and soon the entire menagerie unravels like a house made of yarn. Yet the house of yarn is functional, even in its own dysfunction. The universe need not be real (in a classical Newtonian sense) in order for it to be functional. All that is required is that it be (or appear to be) functional. As we go through our daily lives, we are mostly unaware of the gaps, the flaws and the unravled ends that make up our tattered reality matrix. This matrix or tapestry is continually built upon by the higher, more discreet functions of our mind and the shared mind we all interact with (society, both micro and macro) Any discrepancies are quickly labeled as "paranormal" in nature or "painted" over by higher functions of our mind. If we were to see clearly the higher order symmetries that are responsible for our world and others' existence (the raw program code, of sorts) we might deduce that reality, at least as we know it, is in fact very inaccurate after all!

The Measurement Problem?

Ask any physicist today what scares them the most. Undoubtedly their answer will relate to something called the measurement problem of Q.M. (Quantum Mechanics.) The measurement problem arises whenever we try to observe a system at the quantum level. We know that particles like electrons have a waveform nature and that they exist in a unique "superposition" such that every possible position is realized at once, they "should" appear as an indeterminate cloud. Instead, when we observe them, they instantaneously appear to take on one of their infinite number of possible positions. This jump into a definite position is known as a quantum probability waveform collapse. The measurement "problem" is the key to understanding why our universe isn't exactly what it should be, and also the key to understanding what lies beyond our universe. The big question is why does the act of observation by a person affect the observed state of the particle? This seems ridiculous, beyond even the scope of the most fanciful science fiction, nevertheless it remains true.
Perhaps if we plug in the element of consciousness into the equations of the universe, things might make more sense. When we run into problems, paradoxes or conundrums it usually a flaw in our perception or understanding that quickly resolves the matter. It took us many centuries to realize the the world was round, rotated around the sun and was one of many other heavenly bodies. Once we recognize the fact that consciousness is linked to both matter and energy, as the third primordial element then the problem of measurement makes sense, and the long battled arguments over dualism become resolved. We are forced to admit that we are inexorably linked to the systems we reside in, if our consciousness were removed from this universe (this world) it would be different because of our departure. If all consciousness were to disappear, the universe would collapse and disintegrate. We are made out of a complex process that temporarily fuses these three elements together. As conscious beings we are part of the system we are trying to understand and observe, this is bound to cause some difficulty. How are we to gain the lofty vantage point by which we might see clearly the world we live in? The Measurement Problem isn't really a problem at all! It is one of the many sign-posts pointing to the solution, (a solution I am confident will one day free mankind from the world and existence we now live in.)